"Cards were at first for Benefits design'd, / Sent to amuse, and not enslave the Mind."
— Moore, Edward (1712-1757)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Francklin
Date
1753
Metaphor
"Cards were at first for Benefits design'd, / Sent to amuse, and not enslave the Mind."
Metaphor in Context
EPILOGUE
On ev'ry Gamester in th' Arabian Nation,
'Tis said, that Mahomet denounc'd Damnation;
But in Return for wicked Cards and Dice,
He gave them black-ey'd Girls in Paradise.
Should he thus preach, good Countrymen, to You,
His Converts would, I fear, be mighty few.
So much your Hearts are set on sordid Gain,
The brightest Eyes around you shine in vain.
Shou'd the most heav'nly Beauty bid you take her,
You'd rather hold--two Aces and a Maker,
By your Example, our poor Sex drawn in,
Is guilty of the same unnat'ral Sin;
The Study now of every Girl of Parts
Is how to win your Money, not your Hearts.
O! in what sweet, what ravishing Delights,
Our Beaux and Belles together pass their Nights!
By ardent Perturbations kept awake,
Each views with longing Eyes the other's--Stake.
The Smiles and Graces are from Britain flown,
Our Cupid is an errant Sharper grown,
And Fortune sits on Cytherea's Throne.
In all these Things tho' Women may be blam'd,
Sure Men, the wiser Men shou'd be asham'd!
And 'tis a horrid Scandal I declare
That four strange Queens shou'd rival all the Fair,
Four Jilts with neither Beauty, Wit nor Parts,
O Shame! have got Possession of their Hearts;
And those bold Sluts, for all their Queenly Pride.
Have play'd loose Tricks, or else they're much bely'd.
Cards were at first for Benefits design'd,
Sent to amuse, and not enslave the Mind.
From Good to Bad how easy the Transition!
For what was Pleasure once, is now Perdition.
Fair Ladies then these wicked Gamesters shun,
Whoever weds one, is, you see, undone.
(p. vi)
On ev'ry Gamester in th' Arabian Nation,
'Tis said, that Mahomet denounc'd Damnation;
But in Return for wicked Cards and Dice,
He gave them black-ey'd Girls in Paradise.
Should he thus preach, good Countrymen, to You,
His Converts would, I fear, be mighty few.
So much your Hearts are set on sordid Gain,
The brightest Eyes around you shine in vain.
Shou'd the most heav'nly Beauty bid you take her,
You'd rather hold--two Aces and a Maker,
By your Example, our poor Sex drawn in,
Is guilty of the same unnat'ral Sin;
The Study now of every Girl of Parts
Is how to win your Money, not your Hearts.
O! in what sweet, what ravishing Delights,
Our Beaux and Belles together pass their Nights!
By ardent Perturbations kept awake,
Each views with longing Eyes the other's--Stake.
The Smiles and Graces are from Britain flown,
Our Cupid is an errant Sharper grown,
And Fortune sits on Cytherea's Throne.
In all these Things tho' Women may be blam'd,
Sure Men, the wiser Men shou'd be asham'd!
And 'tis a horrid Scandal I declare
That four strange Queens shou'd rival all the Fair,
Four Jilts with neither Beauty, Wit nor Parts,
O Shame! have got Possession of their Hearts;
And those bold Sluts, for all their Queenly Pride.
Have play'd loose Tricks, or else they're much bely'd.
Cards were at first for Benefits design'd,
Sent to amuse, and not enslave the Mind.
From Good to Bad how easy the Transition!
For what was Pleasure once, is now Perdition.
Fair Ladies then these wicked Gamesters shun,
Whoever weds one, is, you see, undone.
(p. vi)
Categories
Provenance
LION
Citation
36 entries in the ESTC (1753, 1755, 1756, 1763, 1765, 1767, 1771, 1776, 1777, 1779, 1780, 1783, 1784, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1790, 1794, 1800).
Edward Moore, The Gamester. A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane (London: Printed for R. Francklin and Sold by R. Dodsley, 1753).
Edward Moore, The Gamester. A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane (London: Printed for R. Francklin and Sold by R. Dodsley, 1753).
Date of Entry
09/03/2013
